Repak said today that Team Green Member Bus Éireann has achieved a milestone in its sustainability strategy by using its 150,000th recycled plastic bottle in the design and creation of its staff uniforms.
Bus Éireann announced its first uniform redesign in more than a decade just 22 months ago.
Repak today launched its new Team Green Most Valuable Players campaign which focuses on innovative organisational recycling practices created by Repak Team Green supporters.
The aim of the campaign is to inspire other organisations to join Team Green and publicly commend those helping Ireland get to 50% of all plastic recycled by 2025 by showcasing their work.
Repak said that the components of the Bus Éireann uniform are made from ethically sourced and recycled materials. The polyester used in the uniforms is made from recycled plastic bottles and each uniform prevents 20 plastic bottles going to landfill.
Since Repak Team Green launched in 2018, the collective efforts of the public to recycle has resulted in an increase of recycled plastic packaging tonnes by 32% or 25,720 tonnes.
The theme of the campaign is to "Re-Imagine" and has been created to help consumers understanding of how recycled plastic can be made into many different products and materials if recycled correctly.
Seamus Clancy, CEO of Repak, said the use of plastic bottles in Bus Éireann's driver uniforms is a fantastic example of what can be done when we re-imagine our relationship with plastic to create a more circular future.
"Using recycled materials to create new uniforms is a great incentive to reimagine how we deal with packaging and we hope that this effort inspires others to follow suit," he said.
But he said that despite the achievements made by Repak Members and other businesses, attaining the 2025 EU plastic packaging recycling targets remains a formidable challenge for Ireland.
"Forecasts indicate that Ireland will miss its national plastic target. If all organisations in Ireland focused on recycling their plastic and being innovative in their approach, Ireland would make significant progress to meet these targets," he added.
